Kitesurf - PKRA ProKite World Tour 2014

The PKRA Pro kite tour 2014 report

By Charlie Edwards

The PKRA Pro Kite Tour came to Tarifa's Playa de los Lances on 30th August - 7th September 2014, and what a day it was!

On the 30th August, the Playa de Los Lances in Tarifa embraced its ninth consecutive ´PKRA (Professional Kiteboarding Riders Association) Kitesurf World Championship´ event. The stars of the show were Christophe Tack, a belgian rider, and Karolina Winkowska, of polish origin, who succeeded as overall champions at the end of this thrilling campaign.

There was much to see and enjoy for the public who watched from a sun-drenched beach, as young, fresh-faced kitesurfers took on the more experienced veterans of the kitesurf world in a heated competition.

In the fight for first place in the women´s freestyle event, Gisela Pulido risked everything for pole position but unfortunately fell short behind the Brasilian Bruna Kajiya, who found herself in an intense final with Karolina Winkowska. It was very close, however Winkowska just edged it and managed to grab first place.

In the mens freestyle, emotions were running high as the Belgian Christophe Tack took on the Spaniard Liam Whaley. Both of them left their skin in the water as they produced the most magnificent and risky tricks to impress both the judging panel and the awaiting crowd. Both received standing ovations, however it was the Belgian who took pole position.

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The conditions were great throughout the contest, allowing surfers to ride to the best of their ability. Unfortunately towards the end a western wind came in, bringing an end to the competition.

At the end of the day, an award ceremony was held in which Juan Andrés Gil, Mayor of Tarifa; Javier Pérez Dolset, Chairman of the PKRA; Mauricio Toscano, manager of the PKRA and Álvaro Vázquez, Spanish representative of the PKRA, handed over the awards to the winners on the podium.

This event comes just after a Guinness World Record was broken for the greatest amount of kitesurfers to ride simultaneously within a mile of Cadiz waters, also in Tarifa. Here is a link to more information about that great story: http://blog.andalucia.com/?p=15143

The Best Pro Centre was the host of this great event and welcomed the riders, judges, journalists and the general public. It could be said that without their organisation and infrastructure, none of this would have been possible.

A massive thanks goes to the sponsors, ZED, Best and Zumosol, to the contributing companies Red Bul and TooZhink and the help of the many Kitesurfing institutions for the development of the Tarifa Pro Kite Tour.

Results:

Big Air

Male: 1 - Ariel Corniel, 2 - Liam Whaley, 3 - Pozito Martinez

Female: 1 - Gisela Pulido, 2 - Sabrina Lutz, 3 - Annelous Lammerts

Freestyle

Male: 1 - Christophe Tack, 2 - Liam Whaley, 3 - Eudazio Da Silva

Female: 1 - Karolina Winkowska, 2 - Bruna Kajiya, 3 - Gisela Pulido

Playa de los Lances (Hotel Dos Mares)

This zone, which is located 4km from Tarifa town, is the main kitesurf venue. It is located at the northern end of Playa de los Lances, including the area around the mouth of the Rio Jara, near the car park from where motorboats and jetskis can be launched.

Kite Surfing Lessons in Tarifa

Enjoy private, semiprivate or group kitesurfing courses in Valdevaqueros and Los Lances in Tarifa. Beginners kitesurfing classes are designed by our IKO licensed instructors for kids, adults and seniors. Safety as the primary concern. All equipment and insurance is included and options with transportation are available.